USC Ready for Shot at Historic Four-Peat
With less than two weeks until USC opens its 2006 season against Arkansas, head coach Pete Carroll has his players ready to take full advantage of the unique opportunity in front of them: becoming the first team in college football history to win four consecutive national titles.
“All of the players and coaches are on the same page. We want this bad,” said Carroll. “Sure, some people doubt we can do it. They say we weren’t actually the official national champions in 2003. And that we didn’t even win a title last year. But that’s the kind of negative talk you have to push aside when you’re going for history. We have to stay positive and unified.”
Carroll said he is using the same motivational techniques he did last year when USC went after a highly-publicized three-peat that included a trip to the BCS title game against Texas.
“We had a lot of players on that team who had already tasted so much success – Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White – and we needed to create a little extra incentive for them,” said Carroll. “So I thought: ‘Hey, why not pretend we’ve won back-to-back championships and that we’re going for a third?’ Luckily, ESPN and the rest of the media went right along with it, and before we knew it our quest for a three-peat was the biggest story of the college football season. It was awesome. I even started to believe we were going for three in a row after a while.”
But while deep inside Carroll knows he only has a single national championship in his tenure at USC, his players and coaches honestly believe the Trojans could win four in a row this year.
“Yeah, it’s pretty funny. They have no idea that LSU won the BCS title in 2003, not us. And they’re in complete denial that we lost to Texas last year,” said Carroll. “After we got exposed in that game Matt Leinart said he still thought we were the better team. The adorable part is, these guys think that believing you’re the best is same as winning a national championship. And who am I to crush their hopes? Plus, pretending we’ve won back-to-back-to-back championships is great for recruiting. Kids will believe anything you tell them.”
Carroll says the most important part in winning a record fourth consecutive title won’t be determined so much by the performance of his team on the field as it will be by getting the media onboard with the USC hype machine again.
“As long as enough people believe something is true, it becomes true,” said Carroll. “That’s what happened last year. We need it to happen again.”
And luckily for Carroll, he’s already getting some to come over to his side.
“Take away one last minute drive and USC is holding the trophy last year,” said college football analyst Lee Corso. “So let’s not split hairs here. They more or less won that game. I mean, you say tomato, I say tomato. You say USC only has one national title, I say they’re about to get four in a row. Let’s not go and ruin what could be a great story with facts.”
Please believe I hold the Trojans in the highest regards,
"The Boomer"
Wednesday
"Let's Roll"
Have you watched TV or listened to the radio and heard an outrageous report about a celebrity or wanna-be acting out that made you think "their parents must be so proud." It never ceases to amaze me how often that happens lately. It seems that constantly someone is pushing the limits of decency trying to make a buck or have their 15 minutes of fame. "If that was my kid I'd smack the hell out of em" and set em straight often comes into my mind. But what if it was the other way around. What if it was your parent making the scene and you were around having to deal with the backlash. Or what if you weren't? I am so freakin tired of hearing what the hell Cindy Sheehan has to say about the war and about her son. And honestly, I really am curious what he would say about the war if he was still here. How would he feel about his mom's pursuit for fame (don't let the liberals fool you with this innocent mom bs, she's been a media whore ever since she came on the scene). GW hasn't been spotless in this war by far but he has done one hell of a job considering what he has been up against. And I think her son, given the facts, would agree with that. But unfortunately we have to listen to Cindy stand in the gap for him and share the true message of the departed. Cindy, give it a rest. And GW, if you head back to Crawford and see her standing there with her protest blocking your way... well, in the immortal words of some true heroes, "Let's Roll."
With foot on the accelerator,
"The Bear"
Can I get this in a wallet?
This picture of "Touchdown Mohammed" is brought to us courtesy of our friends at "The M Zone." It is a take off of "Touchdown Jesus" which adorns the Notre Dame campus and overlooks the football stadium. The first time I saw it I didn't know if I would ever be able to stop laughing. I would consider it a crime for it not to be passed along. Keep in mind that the whole controversy and riots were dealing with the Danish image depicting Mohammed in any light at all (which according to their laws you are not allowed to do), not simply making fun of him. I hope you enjoy and thanks again "M Zone" for the picture.
Wondering if instead of NBC they would have a multi-million dollar Aljazeera TV contract,
"The Bear"
Wondering if instead of NBC they would have a multi-million dollar Aljazeera TV contract,
"The Bear"
"The Bear's" Top 25 Pre-Season Poll
We all know that Pre-Season Top 25 Polls in college football are about as relevant as Paris Hilton's singing career. With that being said, and with the season only 8 days away, I introduce my Pre-Season Top 25 for 2006.
1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. West Virginia
4. USC
5. Florida State
6. Florida
7. Miami (FL)
8. Oregon
9. Louisville
10. LSU
11. Auburn
12. Georgia
13. Texas
14. Penn State
15. TCU
16. Nebraska
17. Iowa
18. Texas Tech
19. Michigan
20. Virginia Tech
21. Arizona State
22. Alabama
23. Georgia Tech
24. Oklahoma
25. Tennessee
R/U Boston College
Dusting off my Irish hat and putting the beer on ice,
"The Bear"
Saturday
Cubans Not Illegal
Outrageous! Unbelievable! Preposterous! Did I really just hear that or are my ears playing tricks on me? "Mark Cuban is someone who makes even Jerry Jones look classy." Hearing that comment made me tightly hold the wheel with both hands in hopes of an accident. I was shocked and offended. What kind of idiots do we have on the radio in this town? How quickly we forget!
Am I the only one who remembers when the Mavericks sucked? Let's be honest people, it wasn't that long ago. I grew up watching bad basketball and baseball while the only saving grace was Jerry Jones and his World Champion Cowboys. And God help us without Jerry and his rebellious Pepsi and Nike contracts, Dallas may have floated off the map. I remember when the NFL was furious with Jones and he was called a rebel and a pirate for marketing the Cowboys like he did and making way more off his product and investment than other owners dreamed of. He was a very business savvy individual who knew what the hell he was doing and people hated him for that. But us in Dallas loved him, at least the true fans. To have an owner care that much and pour his heart and soul into a team, our team, was heart-warming. It was a team you could really get behind.
And now we have maybe an even greater pioneer in the game of basketball, Mark Cuban. An owner so dedicated to his team that he builds them a castle and only asks on the hunt for the top treasure in the NBA that they bring home the booty (not get theirs handed to them by Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, but that's for another day).
During and even after the NBA Finals it has seemed like the ripping of Mark Cuban has greatly increased (David Stern, tell your wiccan to back off). It's funny though, I didn't remember Cuban blowing a 13 point lead in the final minutes of game 3. I also didn't remember him missing huge free-throws (they call them that because they are FREE; Shaq, are you listening?), getting suspended, or not getting important stops on defense. Maybe I wasn't watching close enough but my guess is that is was the athletes on the court who blew the series (officiating also, well, I do think we share a jail cell with the Seahawks and a guy named Bubba but that's not the point here).
So why is an amazing owner like Cuban getting all the heat (no pun intended). Ask any pro athlete and they will tell you they would kill (take it easy, O.J.) for an owner like Mark. I believe he is the best thing to ever happen to this town and when all is said and done will have built a dynasty here in Dallas. Compare him with other owners in this town, or anywhere, and you will quickly see that while Dallas may have already been on the map (Thank You, Jerry), Cuban is putting it to all CAPS.
The best example is that dead-beat, Tom Hicks. He owns the Rangers and the Stars yet he pockets his profits and is content with them being mediocre. While Hicks did make two big moves in his tenure in Dallas (Brett Hull and A-ROD, the former of which did help the Stars win a Stanley Cup), his greed as of the past few years makes people dread going to the ballpark and the arena. The Rangers payroll is actually within a few million of the Twins and Nationals, both teams that were almost disposed of a few years ago because of financial implications. So Tom, if you are reading this for the love of God please put the Stars back on the market. And Mark, do the right thing and buy them. Think of this as monopoly and you have Boardwalk and you just need Park Place to put a strangle hold on you opponents. The Mav's already share the arena with the Stars, it makes perfect sense. And as for Hick's Rangers, Mark, do you like baseball?
At this point, with the World Cup in full swing (except for those dominant Americans), it would seem appropriate to mention FC Dallas and their owner in this article. So there, I just did. I realize that I didn't really say anything about them but this article is only comparing real sports (yes - nascar, golf, bowling, horse-racing, tennis, beer-pong, none of you qualify either; although beer-pong would be the closest).
So thank you Jerry for putting Dallas on the map and that you Mark for helping keep it there (or maybe JFK helped out a little; speaking of, are you guys swinging by Dallas to pick up a book anytime soon? When is the next Kennedy family ski-trip or vacation to Martha's Vineyard? Ted, you bring the booze, Robert, you the pain-killers, and I will supply the falsified police reports to cover you once again). And thank you Lion, Scarecrow and Tin-man. You helped me believe in myself enough to write this article. I couldn't have done it without you!
"We're off to see the Wizard,"
"The Bear"
Am I the only one who remembers when the Mavericks sucked? Let's be honest people, it wasn't that long ago. I grew up watching bad basketball and baseball while the only saving grace was Jerry Jones and his World Champion Cowboys. And God help us without Jerry and his rebellious Pepsi and Nike contracts, Dallas may have floated off the map. I remember when the NFL was furious with Jones and he was called a rebel and a pirate for marketing the Cowboys like he did and making way more off his product and investment than other owners dreamed of. He was a very business savvy individual who knew what the hell he was doing and people hated him for that. But us in Dallas loved him, at least the true fans. To have an owner care that much and pour his heart and soul into a team, our team, was heart-warming. It was a team you could really get behind.
And now we have maybe an even greater pioneer in the game of basketball, Mark Cuban. An owner so dedicated to his team that he builds them a castle and only asks on the hunt for the top treasure in the NBA that they bring home the booty (not get theirs handed to them by Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, but that's for another day).
During and even after the NBA Finals it has seemed like the ripping of Mark Cuban has greatly increased (David Stern, tell your wiccan to back off). It's funny though, I didn't remember Cuban blowing a 13 point lead in the final minutes of game 3. I also didn't remember him missing huge free-throws (they call them that because they are FREE; Shaq, are you listening?), getting suspended, or not getting important stops on defense. Maybe I wasn't watching close enough but my guess is that is was the athletes on the court who blew the series (officiating also, well, I do think we share a jail cell with the Seahawks and a guy named Bubba but that's not the point here).
So why is an amazing owner like Cuban getting all the heat (no pun intended). Ask any pro athlete and they will tell you they would kill (take it easy, O.J.) for an owner like Mark. I believe he is the best thing to ever happen to this town and when all is said and done will have built a dynasty here in Dallas. Compare him with other owners in this town, or anywhere, and you will quickly see that while Dallas may have already been on the map (Thank You, Jerry), Cuban is putting it to all CAPS.
The best example is that dead-beat, Tom Hicks. He owns the Rangers and the Stars yet he pockets his profits and is content with them being mediocre. While Hicks did make two big moves in his tenure in Dallas (Brett Hull and A-ROD, the former of which did help the Stars win a Stanley Cup), his greed as of the past few years makes people dread going to the ballpark and the arena. The Rangers payroll is actually within a few million of the Twins and Nationals, both teams that were almost disposed of a few years ago because of financial implications. So Tom, if you are reading this for the love of God please put the Stars back on the market. And Mark, do the right thing and buy them. Think of this as monopoly and you have Boardwalk and you just need Park Place to put a strangle hold on you opponents. The Mav's already share the arena with the Stars, it makes perfect sense. And as for Hick's Rangers, Mark, do you like baseball?
At this point, with the World Cup in full swing (except for those dominant Americans), it would seem appropriate to mention FC Dallas and their owner in this article. So there, I just did. I realize that I didn't really say anything about them but this article is only comparing real sports (yes - nascar, golf, bowling, horse-racing, tennis, beer-pong, none of you qualify either; although beer-pong would be the closest).
So thank you Jerry for putting Dallas on the map and that you Mark for helping keep it there (or maybe JFK helped out a little; speaking of, are you guys swinging by Dallas to pick up a book anytime soon? When is the next Kennedy family ski-trip or vacation to Martha's Vineyard? Ted, you bring the booze, Robert, you the pain-killers, and I will supply the falsified police reports to cover you once again). And thank you Lion, Scarecrow and Tin-man. You helped me believe in myself enough to write this article. I couldn't have done it without you!
"We're off to see the Wizard,"
"The Bear"
Thursday
Life Lessons from "Randy"
"The Bear,"
After reading some of your posts on the ridiculousness of some people, I wanted to share with you a story really close to my heart. It is a story that taught me a good lesson about others and life. I was in college and I decided to go on a road trip with my best friend and I to a weekend football game. When we left for the game that morning from Oklahoma to Illinois (it was a full days drive and yes we did skip class) we both were put in a little 2 door red car with a couple of girls and a guy who I will refer to simply as "Randy." While the seating arrangements were less than ideal, it was the rest of the trip which I will never forget.
It seemed like the whole way there "Randy" had Tim McGraw's "Something Like That" on repeat (he had just bought the cd) and we all knew better that to ask him to change it. You see, "Randy" was a special individual, one that (as we soon found out) if you rubbed the wrong way could melt down at a moment's notice.
After hours of loud country (still the same song) and no heat (Lord only knows it was late fall and freezing outside) we finally spoke up to "Randy" and asked him to turn on the heat. Maybe it was the fact that he ignored us and turned up the music, or just maybe it was because that same damn song kept ringing in our ears, but we figured we had been through enough. We once again, and again, asked him to please turn on the heat as we didn't want to violate our morals to keep warm.
It could have been that he had been driving all day. It could have been that he was annoyed that we sang along with the country song (albeit off-tune). It could have even been that he didn't like us telling him what to do in his car. Whatever the cause though, that was it. "Randy" lost it and started screaming some non-sense about leaving us on the side of the road. It truly was a frightening moment. At the next gas station the girls ran crying from the car and my friend and I sent out a search party for help (well, not really, but we were a bit scared). I don't think either of us had been that close to psychotic behavior, or even death. Either way when the group got to Chicago for the evening we had some friends "take care" of good old "Randy" and we drifted off to sleep (myself with one eye open).
I tell you this story because I saw "Randy" a few years later at my friend's campus and he wasn't really such a terrible guy. I think the prozac had done wonders because he was actually quite friendly. We were in the computer lab (other around us were doing homework and he was like "HEY GUYS, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?" It was quite embarrassing because we were like "Randy, shhhhh.. people are studying." "YEAH GUYS, ME TOO... I JUST LOVE THE COMPUTER LAB. IT'S SO NICE AND QUIET HERE." And with that we left with a smile (we may have ducked out the door, actually).
We often reminisce about "Randy." A guy just like you and me, although, none of us are probably locked up at this point. But I learned a few good lessons from this experience. "Randy" was a good guy, a bit misunderstood, and we misjudged him simply because he almost killed us or left us stranded like on an episode of LOST. I learned if you are going to judge someone, get to know them first, or simply just stay the hell away from their car if you value you life (others may not end up as lucky)!
Please make sure and pass this on to your readers as it could save them some heartache.
Paul in Tulsa
Paul,
I appreciate your letter of concern and I will pass it along to my readers. I am glad you made it out alive and it is a good lesson about not getting in the car with strangers, especially ones under a psychologists care. As for your friend "Randy," I could swear I know him. And I know I know people like him. And as for the song, that's tough man, real tough. Hang in there and tell "Randy" to keep it quiet in the computer lab, some of us are trying read ESPN's updates (studying? me? you have got to be kidding!). I appreciate it Paul.
"I had a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt,"
"The Bear"
After reading some of your posts on the ridiculousness of some people, I wanted to share with you a story really close to my heart. It is a story that taught me a good lesson about others and life. I was in college and I decided to go on a road trip with my best friend and I to a weekend football game. When we left for the game that morning from Oklahoma to Illinois (it was a full days drive and yes we did skip class) we both were put in a little 2 door red car with a couple of girls and a guy who I will refer to simply as "Randy." While the seating arrangements were less than ideal, it was the rest of the trip which I will never forget.
It seemed like the whole way there "Randy" had Tim McGraw's "Something Like That" on repeat (he had just bought the cd) and we all knew better that to ask him to change it. You see, "Randy" was a special individual, one that (as we soon found out) if you rubbed the wrong way could melt down at a moment's notice.
After hours of loud country (still the same song) and no heat (Lord only knows it was late fall and freezing outside) we finally spoke up to "Randy" and asked him to turn on the heat. Maybe it was the fact that he ignored us and turned up the music, or just maybe it was because that same damn song kept ringing in our ears, but we figured we had been through enough. We once again, and again, asked him to please turn on the heat as we didn't want to violate our morals to keep warm.
It could have been that he had been driving all day. It could have been that he was annoyed that we sang along with the country song (albeit off-tune). It could have even been that he didn't like us telling him what to do in his car. Whatever the cause though, that was it. "Randy" lost it and started screaming some non-sense about leaving us on the side of the road. It truly was a frightening moment. At the next gas station the girls ran crying from the car and my friend and I sent out a search party for help (well, not really, but we were a bit scared). I don't think either of us had been that close to psychotic behavior, or even death. Either way when the group got to Chicago for the evening we had some friends "take care" of good old "Randy" and we drifted off to sleep (myself with one eye open).
I tell you this story because I saw "Randy" a few years later at my friend's campus and he wasn't really such a terrible guy. I think the prozac had done wonders because he was actually quite friendly. We were in the computer lab (other around us were doing homework and he was like "HEY GUYS, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?" It was quite embarrassing because we were like "Randy, shhhhh.. people are studying." "YEAH GUYS, ME TOO... I JUST LOVE THE COMPUTER LAB. IT'S SO NICE AND QUIET HERE." And with that we left with a smile (we may have ducked out the door, actually).
We often reminisce about "Randy." A guy just like you and me, although, none of us are probably locked up at this point. But I learned a few good lessons from this experience. "Randy" was a good guy, a bit misunderstood, and we misjudged him simply because he almost killed us or left us stranded like on an episode of LOST. I learned if you are going to judge someone, get to know them first, or simply just stay the hell away from their car if you value you life (others may not end up as lucky)!
Please make sure and pass this on to your readers as it could save them some heartache.
Paul in Tulsa
Paul,
I appreciate your letter of concern and I will pass it along to my readers. I am glad you made it out alive and it is a good lesson about not getting in the car with strangers, especially ones under a psychologists care. As for your friend "Randy," I could swear I know him. And I know I know people like him. And as for the song, that's tough man, real tough. Hang in there and tell "Randy" to keep it quiet in the computer lab, some of us are trying read ESPN's updates (studying? me? you have got to be kidding!). I appreciate it Paul.
"I had a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt,"
"The Bear"
Tuesday
Repeat after me...
So I read where this 14-year-old girl and her mom are suing MySpace.com because she claims she was assaulted by a 19-year-old and that MySpace.com does not adequately protect their users. Here is the kicker: She willingly gave the guy her number and knew he was at least 18 because he claimed to be a senior on the football team. While it is unfortunate what happened to her, at some point kids (and their parents) have to get smarter and not put themselves in compromising situations. Maybe her teacher should have her stay after school and write on the blackboard, "I will not meet people off the internet." I'll bet after writing that 1000 times or so she will realize the most important part of the sentence, the word "I," and retract her frivolous lawsuit. And here is the best part: They are suing for 30 million dollars. Holy Freakin Cow! Are you kidding me? As my boy Steve says, "Wuh Happen?" I remember back when I was still a minor, a man in a convenience store sold me alcohol and now I am devestated. I figure the convenience store should have taken greater measures to protect me and my innocence. I am going to sue! Where's a lawyer when I need one?
Rolling my eyes,
"The Bear"
Wednesday
From "Steroid Darr-oid" to "Steroid Barr-oid"
I remember it like it was yesterday. And while aging does play against my mind in this case it actually was. A subject that seems to be on the tip of everyone's tongue, that just never dies, was once again brought to my attention. It was of course, Barry Bonds. And while everyone was shooting off their hot opinions on the matter my mind took me back to a day when everything seemed so much simpler, my freshman year of high school.
I was a boy learning to play a man's game: football. And with the season coming to an end I felt my stock had risen enormously and I was ready to break out into something great. And I knew the way I was going to get there: The Off-Season.
I remember walking around the weight room at school trying to figure out the best way to bulk up and increase my potential when a certain senior decided to take me under his wing. He offered (for a moderate fee, enter dad's wallet) to be my personal trainer and handle all my workouts, diets, and supplements. He would write my weight routines, teach me conditioning exercises and even sit me down with books and tell me what pills I needed to order and why. Then I would give him a check and a few weeks later my ship would arrive. At the time it sounded like a great idea. I mean, after all I was going to be built up into stardom. The "buck-twenty" boy soaking wet would be gone and in his place would be, well, me. But a bigger, stronger, faster me. One that would command the respect of everyone around him. At least that is what I thought.
Rumor around the school was that this individual had been injured during football and was getting a little "extra help" getting back on his feet. He had apparently almost doubled in muscle and wasn't recognizable anymore. Was this true? I don't know and I really don't want to. But he was given the name "Steroid Darroid" and myself, well, nobody called me anything to my face but I do remember people cracking jokes about the supplements they saw "Darroid" giving me and commenting on how I too must be involved. For the record, I wasn't taking steroids (or at least that is what I have told the BALCO Grand Jury investigators) but if I was let's just say those who were making the jokes would have been "convinced" to find something else to joke about.
I ended up transferring schools and never got to finish my program with "Darroid" but I often wonder if he had been on "the juice" and offered me any, what I would have said. It's easy to say I would have rejected them but I had the dream of being the next "Rudy" and stepping on the football field one day for the IRISH. And I wonder if by taking those pills I would have been guaranteed a scholarship what road I would have taken. And the honest answer is, I don't know.
Enter Barry Bonds or "Steroid Barr-oid" if you will.
The question brought up was "Who is Barry Bonds?". Is he the quiet, honest, hard-working individual who keeps to himself and proudly displays his cross or is he the raging, hateful man that wants nothing to do with anyone. And honestly, either way, why do we really care so much?
After hearing last night there is now an investigation on whether he lied to the grand jury I realized that this subject may never die. At the same time you have baseball investigating him as well as others who may have previously taken steroids. Seriously? I mean wouldn't it be easier for them to investigate the players in the recent era who have never taken steroids than the ones who have? I think that would be easier to obtain and a much, much shorter list. After they finish that impossible task maybe they should try to do an investigation into all the NBA players who have committed adultery in the past. Better yet, take those two lists to Vegas and sell it to the odds-makers so they can do an "over-under". Some serious money could be made!
So baseball, I have a solution for you. Move On! "Let Barry be Barry" and let Pete Rose back in the hall and the game. The past is the past and you played your part in the lack of control over it. Just like a parent who doesn't discipline their kids and allows them to run wild and then wonders why they are so badly behaved is baseball officials with their recent past. And you want to reach over and slap both of them when they come to you saying they don't understand how things are going so badly.
The game became the "steroid era" and most players felt they had to do it or they would be forced out of their careers by the ones who were starting to use. Most of these guys had families to support and made a sacrifice to take steroids because if they didn't some 22 year old fresh from the minors with a hot bat and an even sharper needle would put them out on the street. So they did what they felt they had to do to be successful and support their families. Do I condone it? No! But I want to be realistic about it. The sad and yet scary thing is that the Rangers also were part of that era yet still were terrible (although there were those 3 years in the late 90's that the Rangers did win their division but according to Palmeiro that is because Miguel Tejada was supplying the team with free Vitamin B shots). I applaud Mike Schmidt's honesty (one of the greatest players of the 70's and 80's) when he said "let me go out on a limb and say that if I had played during that era I would have taken steroids." And I believe most players either openly or in secret believe the same thing.
Baseball's future is bright as long as they go towards that light and don't wander off into the darkness. And things are back to the way they should be, back to normal. The Red Sox are winning again, the Rangers are losing again, and the Yankees are still spending millions of dollars for mediocrity. Life is good. And for the record, I haven't seen "Darr-oid" since high school but I heard not to long ago he was the personal trainer for some guys I have never heard of named Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield.
Always juicy but still not "juiced,"
"The Bear"
I was a boy learning to play a man's game: football. And with the season coming to an end I felt my stock had risen enormously and I was ready to break out into something great. And I knew the way I was going to get there: The Off-Season.
I remember walking around the weight room at school trying to figure out the best way to bulk up and increase my potential when a certain senior decided to take me under his wing. He offered (for a moderate fee, enter dad's wallet) to be my personal trainer and handle all my workouts, diets, and supplements. He would write my weight routines, teach me conditioning exercises and even sit me down with books and tell me what pills I needed to order and why. Then I would give him a check and a few weeks later my ship would arrive. At the time it sounded like a great idea. I mean, after all I was going to be built up into stardom. The "buck-twenty" boy soaking wet would be gone and in his place would be, well, me. But a bigger, stronger, faster me. One that would command the respect of everyone around him. At least that is what I thought.
Rumor around the school was that this individual had been injured during football and was getting a little "extra help" getting back on his feet. He had apparently almost doubled in muscle and wasn't recognizable anymore. Was this true? I don't know and I really don't want to. But he was given the name "Steroid Darroid" and myself, well, nobody called me anything to my face but I do remember people cracking jokes about the supplements they saw "Darroid" giving me and commenting on how I too must be involved. For the record, I wasn't taking steroids (or at least that is what I have told the BALCO Grand Jury investigators) but if I was let's just say those who were making the jokes would have been "convinced" to find something else to joke about.
I ended up transferring schools and never got to finish my program with "Darroid" but I often wonder if he had been on "the juice" and offered me any, what I would have said. It's easy to say I would have rejected them but I had the dream of being the next "Rudy" and stepping on the football field one day for the IRISH. And I wonder if by taking those pills I would have been guaranteed a scholarship what road I would have taken. And the honest answer is, I don't know.
Enter Barry Bonds or "Steroid Barr-oid" if you will.
The question brought up was "Who is Barry Bonds?". Is he the quiet, honest, hard-working individual who keeps to himself and proudly displays his cross or is he the raging, hateful man that wants nothing to do with anyone. And honestly, either way, why do we really care so much?
After hearing last night there is now an investigation on whether he lied to the grand jury I realized that this subject may never die. At the same time you have baseball investigating him as well as others who may have previously taken steroids. Seriously? I mean wouldn't it be easier for them to investigate the players in the recent era who have never taken steroids than the ones who have? I think that would be easier to obtain and a much, much shorter list. After they finish that impossible task maybe they should try to do an investigation into all the NBA players who have committed adultery in the past. Better yet, take those two lists to Vegas and sell it to the odds-makers so they can do an "over-under". Some serious money could be made!
So baseball, I have a solution for you. Move On! "Let Barry be Barry" and let Pete Rose back in the hall and the game. The past is the past and you played your part in the lack of control over it. Just like a parent who doesn't discipline their kids and allows them to run wild and then wonders why they are so badly behaved is baseball officials with their recent past. And you want to reach over and slap both of them when they come to you saying they don't understand how things are going so badly.
The game became the "steroid era" and most players felt they had to do it or they would be forced out of their careers by the ones who were starting to use. Most of these guys had families to support and made a sacrifice to take steroids because if they didn't some 22 year old fresh from the minors with a hot bat and an even sharper needle would put them out on the street. So they did what they felt they had to do to be successful and support their families. Do I condone it? No! But I want to be realistic about it. The sad and yet scary thing is that the Rangers also were part of that era yet still were terrible (although there were those 3 years in the late 90's that the Rangers did win their division but according to Palmeiro that is because Miguel Tejada was supplying the team with free Vitamin B shots). I applaud Mike Schmidt's honesty (one of the greatest players of the 70's and 80's) when he said "let me go out on a limb and say that if I had played during that era I would have taken steroids." And I believe most players either openly or in secret believe the same thing.
Baseball's future is bright as long as they go towards that light and don't wander off into the darkness. And things are back to the way they should be, back to normal. The Red Sox are winning again, the Rangers are losing again, and the Yankees are still spending millions of dollars for mediocrity. Life is good. And for the record, I haven't seen "Darr-oid" since high school but I heard not to long ago he was the personal trainer for some guys I have never heard of named Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield.
Always juicy but still not "juiced,"
"The Bear"
There is no "T.O." in TEAM but there is in TOMB
So I keep pinching myself. Crap, that actually really hurts. Just a step up from getting your arm hair caught in the band of your watch. Anyways, I digress... T.O. is coming to "Big D."
"Get yo popcorn ready!"
When I first heard the news I went through the range of emotions. I laughed, I cried, I cried some more, and then I remembered the great "Reverend Deion" himself. When Sanders played for the 49ers I hated him. What true Cowboys fan didn't? After all, his blatant pass interference against Michael Irvin in the playoffs kept the Cowboys from winning 4 Super Bowls in a row, a feat never accomplished. But I also remembered my room in high school decorated with "Neon Deion" posters, 4 of them to be exact, during his time in Dallas. "Water covers 2/3 of the earth, I cover the rest" one of them proudly boasted. I went to hear him preach, play, and taped all his appearances on t.v. I even believed I was him when I was out on the football field myself in high school (although I was better). Was I sucked into the hype? Did I create some of it myself? What happened?
So after the likes of "Prime Time" now an even cockier individual (also a former 49er) is about to join the likes of "America's Team." His name of course is Terrell "Get yo popcorn ready!" (quote from his Cowboys press-conference) Owens. And although I despise everything about him, or at least I did, I find myself lately being pulled towards the middle. He has been death and destruction everywhere he has gone previously but as my friend in college so eloquently put it "am I going to follow death and destruction just because (in this case) it looks good in a blue and white jersey?" Am I going to be asking my wife for said jersey for my birthday, Christmas, or even Flag Day?
Unfortunately, in this case I may be getting on the band wagon of the "wicked one" himself. While he may suck at rapping (referencing his new rap "I'm Back" in which he states "All you haters said I wasn't gonna get my money, Now I'm laughing in your face, HA HA, that's funny!" - although it does have a catchy beat...) he is great at catching footballs. And isn't that what is important in today's society? Isn't that what we all care about? Does character really matter to anyone anymore when you can add a talent that, while he may divide your locker room, may take you back to the Super Bowl and the pinnacle of the world? In my case I am tired of caring and mostly tired of losing! So in the immortal rapping-words of T.O. I will be there watching and waiting with open arms when he decides he is "gonna get (his) eagle on, meet (him) at the star."
"GET YO POPCORN READY!"
"The Bear"
"Get yo popcorn ready!"
When I first heard the news I went through the range of emotions. I laughed, I cried, I cried some more, and then I remembered the great "Reverend Deion" himself. When Sanders played for the 49ers I hated him. What true Cowboys fan didn't? After all, his blatant pass interference against Michael Irvin in the playoffs kept the Cowboys from winning 4 Super Bowls in a row, a feat never accomplished. But I also remembered my room in high school decorated with "Neon Deion" posters, 4 of them to be exact, during his time in Dallas. "Water covers 2/3 of the earth, I cover the rest" one of them proudly boasted. I went to hear him preach, play, and taped all his appearances on t.v. I even believed I was him when I was out on the football field myself in high school (although I was better). Was I sucked into the hype? Did I create some of it myself? What happened?
So after the likes of "Prime Time" now an even cockier individual (also a former 49er) is about to join the likes of "America's Team." His name of course is Terrell "Get yo popcorn ready!" (quote from his Cowboys press-conference) Owens. And although I despise everything about him, or at least I did, I find myself lately being pulled towards the middle. He has been death and destruction everywhere he has gone previously but as my friend in college so eloquently put it "am I going to follow death and destruction just because (in this case) it looks good in a blue and white jersey?" Am I going to be asking my wife for said jersey for my birthday, Christmas, or even Flag Day?
Unfortunately, in this case I may be getting on the band wagon of the "wicked one" himself. While he may suck at rapping (referencing his new rap "I'm Back" in which he states "All you haters said I wasn't gonna get my money, Now I'm laughing in your face, HA HA, that's funny!" - although it does have a catchy beat...) he is great at catching footballs. And isn't that what is important in today's society? Isn't that what we all care about? Does character really matter to anyone anymore when you can add a talent that, while he may divide your locker room, may take you back to the Super Bowl and the pinnacle of the world? In my case I am tired of caring and mostly tired of losing! So in the immortal rapping-words of T.O. I will be there watching and waiting with open arms when he decides he is "gonna get (his) eagle on, meet (him) at the star."
"GET YO POPCORN READY!"
"The Bear"
Friday
The Dealership in Austin
In 2005 University of Texas Used Cars (UTUC) had a record setting year. However, critics site that much of the success was due to the performance of one car, a prototype vehicle built by Volkswagon and Yugo, that we will call VY. UTUC had high expectations for VY and they paid off. He was all that they had hoped for. But VY was auctioned off at the latest used car auction as the third car selected and UTUC must find a replacement.
UTUC is known nationally for bringing in an excellent stock of used cars every year but their performance has consistently been below expectations. Leading to question weather or not Mack Brown was able to get the most out of the cars he brought in.
In 2006 Mack Brown insists that the low mileage models he has brought in will be able to replace VY. Brown says “My Mentor, Darrel always says… You gotta dance with who brung ya, well, the guy that brung me left the dance early but don’t worry, I got a couple of real beauties I am going to dance with. Both got low miles and all the bells and whistles, so we plan to use ‘em both.”
Some industry experts question Browns two car approach and site disasters in years past. As recent as 2003 Brown was trying to sell newly acquired VY and a less impressive Chevy Metro we will call Chance. You see Chance had been on the lot for a few years, so Mack thought he should get a shot. Of course, the biggest 2 car debacle Mack has been involved in was when he had just brought in a Cadillac Seville from an old lady in Simmsville and a trusted, reliable old pickup that came from a major applefarm just outside Austin. The old pick-up was called Major and was a favorite on the lot, but Mack picked up that shiny caddy from a guy named Phil in Simmsville and Mack had promised Phil, that his caddy would be to featured car on the UTUC lot. Mack stuck to his guns throughout the year, even when the Cadillac was under performing and Major was over-performing, Mack kept trying to sell the benefits of driving his Cadillac.
UTUC will have a lot of competition from the other 11 regional competitors. Including their annual battle against Bob Stoops of Oklahoma Performance Racing. OPR started slow last year and Mack was able to finish ahead of Stoops for the first time in many years. However, OPR was firing on all cylinders at the end of the year and looks like they could reverse the one year trend. Stoops who is known for bringing in good cars and turning them into great cars says UTUC is all about looks not performance, “UTUC brings in some decent cars and they shine them up, maybe add some spinners, but at OPR we rebuild the engines, the suspension and totally pimp ‘em out. When our cars roll off the lot, the buyers know they are getting an excellent product”
“We got the finest cars money can buy” says Mack. “We keep ‘em in the best garages and we got the biggest lot around. Some of out competitors invest a lot of time into their cars after they arrive, we just throw ‘em out there and hope for the best.”
UTUC will also be going head to head against the new kid on the block, Ron Prince from PowerCars. Prince is taking over the Manhattan based PowerCars from the retiring Bill Snyder. Snyder left a lot full of cars from the previous year and Prince has brought in a few of his own.
Another challenge will be from the CarHuskers. The revamped CarHuskers were a very successful John Deere dealership that had fallen on hard times. So they brought in Wild Bill Callahan to move from the old school mentality to a high performance system. Wild Bill brought in his “West Coast” philosophy last year and has turned the Carhuskers around and has them heading in the right direction.
The bottom line is that Mack Brown is the best used car salesman in the region. However, his competitors do more to make their cars perform at a higher level. And in the end, no matter how good the salesman is or how much you spend on Marketing and PR, the better product will come out on top. Until Mack finds another VY, they will have to settle for second place.
"The Boomer"
Wednesday
The NBA: Hypocrisy at its Finest
Fans of this Blog will know that I have always thought that high school kids should go to college for a couple of years so that they can enjoy “rock star” status around campus, play video games with buddies until 2 a.m. in the morning and allow themselves a couple more years to be kids. I loved my time during my university days and I always just assumed that other kids would value this experience. Why rush going to the League when the game you love will become corrupted by greed?
My opinion on this matter did a complete 180 yesterday when I read a quote on ESPN.com from D League Vice President Michael Curry. Curry told ESPN that the D League would be lowering their age requirement to 19 because, “while we believe that the college game is the best choice for the majority of players coming out of high school, not every player will have the ability or desire to pursue that route. This new rule will now give players the option of playing minor league professional basketball in the United States.”
Are you kidding me?
The NBA is basically telling high school kids that they are willing to create a farm system for them but they aren’t willing to pay them NBA salaries. Other sports like baseball and hockey allow players to be drafted, sign contracts and then play in their minor leagues. Instead of giving the same financial reimbursement to high school kids the NBA has decided to allow them to play for peanuts while they market the D League as the NBA’s farm system. If you realized that college isn’t for some kids then you should have lowered the entry age for the NBA Draft.
What happens if a kid blows out his knee or suffers some other form of career ending knee injury while playing a year in the D League? I’m all for a developmental league as long as players get paid properly for their time there. This season Gerald Green spent some time in the D League and as far as I can tell it was a valuable experience for the kid. He had the security of playing with a contract so if he did sustain an injury he had the peace of mind that he still had a piece of the NBA pie to live comfortably on. If a player like Greg Oden plays a year in the D League or goes to college for a year and blows out his knee his guaranteed millions are now history.
Along those lines, what gives the NBA the right to allow kids to play in their developmental league but not let them play in the real show? If the kids are going to make money for the NBA they should be given the opportunity to enter their name in the draft. I understand that some kids in the past have ruined their chances at NBA careers because they declared for the NBA Draft straight out of high school, but if you going to welcome these same kids into your D League you may as well allow them to enter your Draft.
NBA Commissioner David Stern stated that the Sonics could leave Seattle. Stern told the Associated Press that, “I would say that the city is making it pretty clear of what they want us to do, and we’ll accommodate them. What I mean is they’re not interested in having the NBA there. We understand that, we understand that there are competing issues, and the mayor of Seattle is free to make whatever decisions he needs to make and the people there should support that. But that’s a pretty strong signal and I think that the existing ownership has said they don’t want to own a team that’s not in Seattle, so I know what they’re in the process of doing. So we’ll just see how this play ends.”
This is nothing more than a smoke screen today by Stern to cover up the remarks by Curry. Last summer Stern claimed that he was doing what’s best for young players by making them attend college or prep school for at least a year, yet he gives them a way to make substantially less money by playing in the D League than they could be playing in the NBA. Meanwhile, the NBA comes out golden because they have a stronger product to show on television. By “threatening” that the Sonics could leave Seattle, Stern provides the media with another item to occupy their attention and thus avoid the media firestorm this age issue would have caused. Sonics have known all season long that the current owners want to keep the team in town but they need further money from local government. All Stern did was bring up this topic again so that it would divert the media’s attention away from the hypocritical decision he made by allowing kids to enter the D League right out of high school.
These events do nothing but leave a black eye on the NBA and I’m sad to say that I’m ashamed of the league.
"The Boomer"
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